Loose Ends (7)

• The Wall Street Journal this morning beat me to an idea that I was planning to roll out here: if various Gorebot attorney generals can bring a supposed fraud suit against ExxonMobil, why can’t I bring a fraud suit against Al Gore and the climatistas whose political campaigning intends to depress the market values of hydrocarbon companies and boost the stocks of solar and wind power companies?

That’s the question several Republican state attorney generals are asking, in a letter to New York AG Eric Schneiderman. In “Two Can Play at Climate ‘Fraud’,” the Journal sensibly reports:

The AGs’ letter points out that, “If Exxon’s disclosure is deficient, what of the failure of renewable energy companies to list climate change as a risk?” If climate change turns out to be less serious than advertised, then “‘clean energy’ companies may become less valuable and some may be altogether worthless,” the letter adds.

Think SolarCity, or investments made by the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where Al Gore is a senior partner. Mr. Gore showed up at Mr. Schneiderman’s March 29 press conference for AGs United for Clean Power and blamed climate change for the spread of the Zika virus, flooding in the Midwest and Hurricane Sandy. “Every night on the news now it’s like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation,” Mr. Gore said. These unproven claims arguably mislead investors about the value of clean-energy companies.

The letter from the 13 Republican AGs asks, “Should these statements justify an investigation into all contributions to environmental non-profits by Kleiner Perkins’s partners?” They quickly add that they want to undertake no such action. But they deserve credit for pointing out the political Pandora’s box that left-wing AGs have opened by “policing viewpoints” on climate change.

•Can Trump still be dumped? I still suspect there is a 15 percent chance that Trump will be denied the GOP nomination. Maybe less than that. It is a disastrous idea, but it might come about if polls show that Trump is a boat anchor around the necks of House and Senate members, as well as state legislators, etc. It’s a Doctor Johnson moment for the GOP: the prospect of being hanged wonderfully concentrates the mind.

To this end, Peter Lawler over at National Review offers his thoughts about who might be a suitable nominee who would lose less badly than Trump, following, I suppose, Harry Jaffa’s counsel that “To prefer noble failure to vulgar success is of the essence of moral freedom and human dignity.”

Dumping Trump would guarantee big-time defeat. But it looks like keeping him will too. The truth is that, for now, the Republican party can’t live with him, and probably can’t live without him. So the only issue is which form of defeat is more dignified and does less damage to candidates down the ballot.

Let me say, for the last time, that reason and experience both tell us that Trump can’t be beaten by “Never Trump.” And let me add that the nominee can’t be one of the candidates Trump humiliated during the campaign. Especially not Cruz! But also not Scott Walker. One more thing we’ve learned lately is that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and what they stand for have also been marginalized. They would both look like desperately oligarchic choices.

So for those serious about dumping Trump, I recommend they convince a credible candidate to announce his or her candidacy right now. Here’s my list: Senator Ben Sasse, Mitch Daniels, and Governor Nikki Haley.

(Cue hostile reader reaction in three, two. . .)

• The stock market, and the British Pound sterling, are soaring today on new poll data showing the “Remain” vote pulling ahead in Britain. The “Remain” campaign has run a full-blown scaremongering campaign, and the only surprise is that the “Leave” vote was ahead ever. But we’ll see. More on this before the vote on Thursday.

•Finally, I pass along this story with the comment that Mel Brooks’ classic Blazing Saddles is looking more and more like a documentary all the time: “Activists Plan World’s Largest ‘Fart-In’ During Hillary’s DNC Speech.” Apparently it is Bernie Sanders fans behind this stunt. Where’s Dick Tuck when you really need him? His stunts had some real wit to them. (Related story I expect to see: “Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and Chili Fries Set Sales Records Ahead of DNC Speech.”)